PM Gakharia says ruling party campaign ‘very open, transparent’
The recent election poll conducted by British company Survation between October 16 and October 22, the Georgian Dream received 55% of support. It was followed by the opposition United National Movement with 22%. Photo: Government of Georgia/Facebook
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Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia told journalists earlier today that the election campaign of the ruling Georgia Dream party is ‘very open and transparent’.
At the meeting with journalists in the western Georgian town of Poti, PM Gakharia denied allegations that the government had been using administrative resources, threats and resorting to vote-buying.
Stressing that ‘these are our joint elections’, PM Gakharia said it is ‘everyone’s obligation’ to ensure that the October 31 parliamentary elections are held in a democratic, open and transparent environment.
This will be a common victory and the common victory not of any certain party and the Georgian Dream, but [the victory] of the entire country”, he said.
Speaking of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic Giorgi Gakharia again reiterated that no ‘systemic lockdown’ and strict restrictions will be imposed. However, he claimed that the day after the elections the government will start to carry out its post-crisis economic plan.
In his remarks Gakharia also referred to the recent election poll published by Rustavi 2 TV channel yesterday where the ruling party was leading with 55% of support.
Saying that the Georgian Dream does not need any surveys to prove its support among the population, PM Gakharia has calle on the ruling party supporters to head to polling stations on election day very calm and peaceful.
He further added as well that the opponents of the ruling party are very well aware that the Georgian Dream has much higher support compared to them, this is why they have ‘a hysteria’.
The Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC) has given additional time to voters who are in self-isolation due to the coronavirus to request ballot box service for the October 31 parliamentary elections.
Georgia has reported 1,824 new cases of coronavirus, 1,262 recoveries and 23 deaths in the past 24 hours. Georgia has had 32,127 cases of coronavirus since February 26, 2020. Since then 12,632 patients have recovered, while 238 others have died. 3,847 individuals are undergoing treatment in hospitals as of today, while 2,238 others are in hotels. 3,757 individuals are in quarantine around the country.
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), an independent not-for-profit NGO, has published its second interim report on social media pre-election monitoring, which identified 66 unofficial, anonymous and false media Facebook pages which have been working during the campaign period to discredit political parties in an organised fashion.
The ruling Georgian Dream party says that the ‘radical opposition’ which has ‘zero chance of winning the parliamentary elections’ has plans to release deepfakes on election day, on Saturday.Deepfake videos are inauthentic videos that depict people and voices that resemble their counterparts in reality.Kobakhidze says that the videos, which may depict members of the ruling party, including party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, will aim to mislead voters.
The ruling Georgian Dream party says that the United National Movement opposition party (UNM) has ‘revolutionary headquarters’ along with the official election headquarters which is chaired by former Interior Minister, recently released Vano Merabishvili.
US ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan says that the success of the October 31 parliamentary elections is up to the Georgian Dream government and the Georgian people.
The ruling Georgian Dream party says that the United National Movement opposition party has requested a permit from Tbilisi City hall to hold a large rally on Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi at 12:00 on October 31, on the day when parliamentary elections are scheduled in the country.
A nine-member delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will travel to Georgia from 29 October to 1 November to observe the conduct of the parliamentary elections.
The ruling Georgian Dream party would receive 56% of votes if elections were held today, Imedi TV commissioned poll says. The poll, carried out by US-based Public Opinion Strategies, is based on 1,518 interviews conducted by Gorbi between October 9 and October 20.
‘Go vote! Go vote in the peaceful, fair elections!’ ’Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has called on citizens ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections of October 31. Zurabishvili congratulated those who will be going to the polls for the first time. She said they ‘will take part in the development of the state for the first time and thus determine the future of their country’.
Media polarisation is growing in Georgia and reporting is becoming less balanced as voting day for the parliamentary elections approaches, says the second interim election media monitoring report of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).